Early loss of myocardial myoglobin detected immunohistochemically following occlusion of the coronary artery in rats.

The time course of the loss of myoglobin from the rat ventricular myocardium in the early phase of ischemia was studied with the use of an immunohistochemical technique and an image analyzer. The loss of myoglobin, as an index of myocardial injury, was evident in the left ventricular subendocardium as early as 0.5 hr after occlusion of the left main coronary artery. A clear-cut demarcation of the myoglobin-depleted area helped quantification of the injured areas with an image analyzer. The area with depleted myoglobin became transmural and reached maximum after 2 and 3 hr of occlusion, respectively. Electron microscopic observation of the myoglobin-depleted region revealed amorphous dense bodies in the mitochondria, indicating irreversible damage to the myocardial cells. On the other hand, no irreversible changes could be detected with hematoxylin-eosin stain until 6 hr after the start of the ischemia, and the distinction between the reversible and irreversible areas was unclear. We suggest that depletion of myoglobin from the myocardium serves as a marker for irreversible ischemic injury. Quantitative assessment of the injured areas by immunohistochemical staining for myoglobin together with an image analyzer could be of great value for the evaluation of early ischemic myocardial damage.